India 'strongly' condemns vandalism of BAPS temple in California
India on Friday "strongly" condemned the vandalism of the BAPS Shri Swaminarayan temple in Sacramento, California. The Consulate General of India in San Francisco has taken up the matter with local authorities to take immediate action against those responsible. In a statement on X, the CGI said "The Consulate General of India, San Francisco strongly deplores the act of vandalism which took place on September 24th night at BAPS Shri Swaminarayan Mandir in Sacramento, California."
Vandalism investigation underway
The Sacramento County Sheriff's Office reported that vandals had spray-painted graffiti on the building and damaged water pipes. The graffiti also included expletives about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Indian External Affairs Minister Dr S Jaishankar. The sheriff's office is currently searching for a suspect. In a post on X, the Sacramento county sheriff stated that the vandalism is officially being investigated as a hate crime.
Allied State, Federal law enforcement agencies will assist in probe
The Sacramento County Sheriff said in the X post, "Detectives from the Sacramento County Sheriff's Gang Suppression Unit, which investigates hate crimes in Sacramento County, responded to the scene and began their investigation." "Allied State and Federal law enforcement agencies were also notified of the incident and will assist with the investigation," the post added.
Previous incidents of temple vandalism
This incident comes days after their temple in Melville, New York was also similarly vandalized. On September 17, days before Prime Minister Modi's visit to the United States, the BAPS temple in Melville, New York was covered with offensive graffiti. In July, a BAPS temple in Edmonton, Canada was vandalized as well.
